Category: Amber Southard

A REAL “ASK THE SHERIFF”

I got this letter in response to a Facebook post:

Jimmie,

Recently, you posted on Facebook to list crimes committed by Morgan or the ECSO. There were a few responses and I applaud those who can speak out. Had there been an actual chance of people being able to exercise free speech you would have had many more responses. Sir David does not allow the speaking of wrong doing if it could cause his image to be tarnished. Had everyone been able to speak freely you would have been told stories that demonstrates people who destroy others for their own good. Stories of inexperience and inept leadership would have been described. You would have been told of people who will judge and destroy others but refuse to be judged for flaws they possess.

It is not even difficult to point out how unfair the ECSO leadership has been and continues to be. Now, one could believe that because Morgan has not been held responsible and is not mindful that he too must follow laws.  Another explanation, for such blatant disregard for law, is because of ignorance to knowing the law. I would guess that it is a combination of the two obvious reasons. Sir David is an ignorant and inexperienced sheriff that has not been held accountable for improper actions. He has created a “brand” that resembles the rise of the Backstreet Boys more than it shows a law enforcement leader taking charge of a community to protect the citizens. The crime in that is appalling. Sir David has wasted 100s of thousands of dollars branding his poor law enforcement performance and creating a belief that he actually knows what he is doing.  Those who support this effort are rewarded with undeserving promotions and pay increases. That is a fact that could never be argued. Anyone in the job, that truly understands law enforcement, would say that the ECSO has two worthless Majors that never accomplished mediocrity as deputies. Our PIO should feel fortunate that she isn’t paid based on the length of her skirts. If that were the case she would have to mortgage her home to pay the ECSO to work there. Sir David demonstrated that he does not care about the employees or the citizens by carving out the budget dollars he has for three people to pay back political or other favors.

Maj. Andrew Hobbs is making over $35 an hour and does not even supervise 10 people. In fact he is responsible for 6 employees. Two of the employees of Maj. Hobbs are sworn officers. Both of the officers under his supervision have more experience and accomplishments, as law enforcement officers, than Hobbs. The remaining employees are civilian employees with the assigned task of making Morgan appear to be a knowledgeable sheriff. That is a job that should come with a substantial pay increase. It must be a daunting endeavor to make Morgan appear to be competent with the lack of verifiable experience he claims to have. Couple that fact with his laughable antics in the numerous press conferences he has participated in and accomplished only looking like a poorly executed SNL skit. One would pause to consider how he found that many individuals to take on that job or why they would want that job.

Amber Southard receives a salary that is over $2600 for an 80 hour work period. This is appalling when you consider her job consists of mainly the production of propaganda to boost the image of an incompetent sheriff. She is provided an agency vehicle and fuel for the vehicle. She works a day schedule and, unless she has an abundance of drama in her private life, is never shot at, or spit on and is relatively safe during her work hours. Now, compare that to a sworn officer that will be paid just over $1300.00 for the same 80 hour work period. In no way does that seem to be a decision that any competent sheriff would make. In fact, it appears to be just what it is. Morgan provides for those who further his agenda void of consideration of the ethical obligation he has as a sheriff of our county.  

Sir David has several law suits against him for wrongful acts to employees. He has allowed and been involved in destroying others for fictitious reasons but allowed others to avoid accountability when proven wrong. Lt. Frank Forte is a great example of Morgan ignoring wrongdoing because of personal reasons. Lt. Forte was caught lying under oath in his official capacity. Morgan took no substantial action against a lieutenant when proved to be a liar under oath.

Lt. Forte made a complaint on Sgt. Philip Nix about a court appearance. Lt. Forte stated that Sgt. Nix was “blurting” out derogatory remarks about the ECSO writing illegal tickets during a traffic hearing. Sgt Nix appeared under subpoena and testified in the case. Lt. Forte stated that Sgt. Nix was making comments that were embarrassing to the agency. Col. Steve Hardy responded to the complaint by Lt. Forte. He made efforts to get transcripts of the court appearance but never located the transcripts. Lt. Forte then had an opportunity to testify in an Internal Investigation interview and say whatever he wanted about the conduct of Sgt. Nix. Lt Forte continued to lie and embellish the story about court. Lt. Forte made an attempt to completely tarnish the reputation of Sgt. Nix. After reading the statement of Lt. Forte that was given to Internal Affairs one would conclude Sgt. Nix was an out of control maniac in court.

Apparently, Sgt. Nix was aware of the unethical conduct of Morgan and his posse. Sgt. Nix had paid for a transcript of the court hearing. Sgt. Nix did not provide the information to the ECSO and allowed the situation to take its course. The professional court transcript proved that Lt. Frank Forte was a liar. None of the accusations made about Sgt. Nix were true and Sgt. Nix had conducted himself as a professional would. I use this example because Nix is one of the only people who is not afraid of the backlash of using his real name.

Morgan took no action on Lt. Forte. The fact Lt. Forte is a liar was ignored…..for now. There will be point in time that Lt. Forte will have to explain his reason for ignoring the obligation that an officer takes to always be truthful and honest.  Morgan will get the chance to explain all of the wrongs he has committed and many of those following his lead will enjoy that journey as well.  I hope that they understand a Grand Jury is not as tolerant of liars and cheats as the Morgan administration is and what they are due will be paid.

In another incident, with an employee at the ECSO, an investigation by internal affairs finds reason to sustain or sanction policy violations for obeying the law. Most of you will read that sentence twice. It is true. An employee became a target of the ECSO administration and the rules, policies and laws were twisted until it was reconciled in their twisted minds the employee could be fired. The violation consisted of cooperation with an attorney during a deposition. The attorney was party against the ECSO so that would never be tolerated. Again, a career destroyed.

This matter will also be settled through a lawsuit. Morgan will distribute more taxpayer dollars to pay for the wrong he committed. More waste because of a staff that lacks the courage to tell Sir David he is wrong. It could be they are too selfish to take a chance on ruining their gravy train to stand for what is right. Many of those in a position of power in the ECSO staff is concerned that their “yes man” mentality did not prepare them for the job they have with Morgan or they don’t want to be exposed for the indiscretions committed in the past.  Either reason creates a setting that forces them to vacate their principles always seeking Morgan’s approval first. There is no cost too high to pay for the approval of Morgan. If you follow the rules set by Sir David you will be rewarded with favors that have benefits some in his staff could never enjoy if based on their proven ability.

I would be remiss in my description of the ECSO if I were to leave Eric Haines out of this discussion.  There is no rational reason that this imposter made his way to Chief Deputy. He has pretended to be something he is not his entire career. I regard to his advancement at the ECSO it could not be argued that he was successful in padding his retirement. Had our retirement system required that an employee actually demonstrate law enforcement ability during his career he would be on food stamps at the time he retires.  Haines advanced his career pointing at the other person and pretending to be far more intelligent than he actually is. His bully personality is effective when you are in control of someone’s career. However, his actions have proven time and again that he has no conscious or consideration for any misery he causes. He appears to be the guy that is getting even with the world because he somehow feels life dealt him a losing hand. I can agree that he has numerous reasons to be pissed at life. Most people would consider themselves in hell if they were forced to be Haines. Haines does not have the right to continue to harm and destroy an entire agency and the employees who suffer from his foul display of a failed attempt to prove him a leader. He is not a leader and will never have the respect he is in search of because respect does not come from a title. Respect is earned slowly by those who make an observation of a person. They observe a person who is able to demonstrate needed ability to accomplish success in the area they are leading. Haines has never been successful at being a law enforcement offer and therefore will never gain any measurable amount of respect from true law enforcement officers.

All roads in this equation lead to Morgan. His fairy tales about law enforcement accomplishments and experience have proven to be laughable. It is easy to target him for silly “dress up like a big boy” uniforms and senseless remarks made in a desperate attempt to make it into the media cycle again. Then it comes to mind that this leadership has caused so much misery to those that encounter him with an opposing opinion. Worse there are lives that have been lost that effective leadership could have saved possibly. It is not that laughable when you actually take the time to evaluate who David Morgan really is in this situation. He is a failed sheriff that has hidden from the responsibility of that office. The citizens are suffering and they are unable to see the cause because the tax dollars they pay are being spent by Morgan to create an illusion all is well.

It is a shame that “Ask the Sheriff “isn’t a real thing. If it ever is I have questions. David, why did you leave the Air Force?  Did you really pay for that cross thingy? Do you see the harm you have caused? Do you care about the lives you have ruined or caused to be lost? Do you lie in bed at night regretting the horrible things you have done to people? Do you really trust those you have surrounding you? You caused them to cut and run when you offered a better deal. Imagine what will happen when you are not the best deal anymore.       .  

Sincerely,

No Longer a Victim  

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Haines: LET Funds can be used for anything

In the past few weeks, there has been a growing concern throughout the community regarding the  shameless spending of LET funds under this Sheriff’s discretion–more importantly the vexation by citizens about the legality of the LET disbursements. Will these organizations getting huge checks from the Sheriff have to give the money back at some point, because the funds were not legally donated?  To the trusting people of Escambia County, Sir David’s translucent pretext of humanitarianism is becoming hard to swallow. The duplicitous donations appear to be a vice for Sir David  to purchase value in the community elite and in turn, purchase votes. This has been the theme of many conversations over the breakfast tables and within the social media in Escambia County.

To clarify how the LET funds are spent by the most closely associated LEO agency, the Pensacola PD, I called Jeanne Griffin. Ms. Griffin explained the process of requesting and distributing LET money in their organizations. The process is complex as it should be. First of all, Ms. Griffin says the biggest difference is that the PPD does NOT have a checkbook for that fund. The Sheriff’s Office does. He is able to make donations and leave it to the Board of Commissioners to rule on the expenditures after the fact to reimburse the money. There is a glaring assumption that this is expected. In other words, Morgan seems to be fairly confident that he can spend the money and not be concerned because the county commissioners won’t question it. That is a problem and a red flag.

Ms. Griffin stated in order to spend LET money, a request must be submitted and has to be approved by the administration of the PPD; it is then submitted to the city council. The city council reviews it and researches it, if necessary. After they approve it, it goes to the mayor and then to have a budget resolution passed. Then after more red tape, the check is cut. Dozens of people must approve the spending of funds because the money belongs to the city or in Morgan’s case, the county. They want to be sure that no dollar is spent in haste. This process is standard for most counties and municipalities in Florida. Sir David has been blessed to have broad discretion over the funds. Ironic, since he couldn’t handle the discretion of the jail and the rumors of misappropriation of funds in his military past.  Observing the recent spending, it seems there is still an issue and the funds he is misappropriating is county money—taxpayers’ money.

SIDE NOTE: Funny how his tax returns show the JUMP in wealth after the magnanimous donations started pouring from the county spicket.  Could be a coincidence but I’m not one for coincidences.

Also, the creative categorization of the LET money spent is that of sophmoric ineptocrat. For instance: 100 Black Men, an organization that does stuff through the youth of the community but this particular donation has nothing to do with impacting lives or crime prevention. They want money for a banquet.

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To understand compliance with the statute, the entire process should be laid out for clarification. The parameters of what donations are in accordance with  Fla. Stat. Ann. § 932-7055  fall into the categories of :

1. school resource officer, 2. crime prevention, 3. safe neighborhood, 4. drug abuse education and prevention programs, 5. for other law enforcement purposes, such as defraying the cost of protracted or complex investigations, providing additional equipment or expertise, purchasing automated external defibrillators for use in law enforcement vehicles, and 6.  providing matching funds to obtain federal grants. The proceeds and interest may not be used to meet normal operating expenses of the law enforcement agency

The aforementioned example is a example of how broadly this statute is being stretched.  A banquet is being used for crime prevention, drug prevention and direct support at $5000?  While I am sure there is no doubt this organization benefited from the donation, the issue is this: couldn’t Sir David have used that $5000 for something that more beneficial to more people?

Watch and listen to how Chief Deputy Haines explained in on WCOA.

This is exactly the reason the entire Escambia County Board of Commissioners should be impeached along with this Sheriff. BOCC members have a responsibility to the taxpayers to govern and make sure the money for the county is handled correctly. The buck stops with them but they have become complacent and in turn, the inmate is running the asylum.

Creative accounting for the privileged.